11.17.15
Mérieux NutriSciences, Chicago, IL, has recently developed a first-of-its-kind method helping food players fight against olive oil adulteration.
After the low-volume olive oil harvest suffered by main producing countries in 2014/2015, the risk of olive oil fraud increased dramatically. Earlier this week, Italian’s premier newspaper, Corriere della Sera, revealed large-scale olive oil fraud. Products from seven major olive oil producers labelled as Extra Virgin Olive Oil contained also significant amounts of lower quality oils. The Italian government has launched an investigation into this fraud.
Mérieux NutriSciences’ method allows identifying if the bottled product is of extra virgin quality. While some commonly used analytical methods have the risk of being tricked by fraudsters, the 63-parameter, state-of-the-art method developed by Mérieux NutriSciences is next-to-impossible to be tricked.
Bert Pöpping, chief scientific officer and expert in food chemistry and molecular biology, stated, “The method is a cutting edge development utilizing latest analytical techniques in combination with unique algorithms for data processing. Using this precise and reliable method makes it almost impossible to deceive the producers, the retailers and last but not least, the consumers.”
With its advanced analytical developments, Mérieux NutriSciences aims to help re-establish consumer trust and allow affected stakeholders to assess the quality of their suppliers’ products.
Jean-François Billet, senior vice president corporate development, said, “Our services address all food safety and quality challenges, including intentional adulteration actions affecting the food value chain. In the context of globalization of the agro-food market, scarcity of some resources and climate impacts, it is critical for our clients to be able to ensure origin and composition of products. It is also a key to build and keep the trust of the end-consumers.”
After the low-volume olive oil harvest suffered by main producing countries in 2014/2015, the risk of olive oil fraud increased dramatically. Earlier this week, Italian’s premier newspaper, Corriere della Sera, revealed large-scale olive oil fraud. Products from seven major olive oil producers labelled as Extra Virgin Olive Oil contained also significant amounts of lower quality oils. The Italian government has launched an investigation into this fraud.
Mérieux NutriSciences’ method allows identifying if the bottled product is of extra virgin quality. While some commonly used analytical methods have the risk of being tricked by fraudsters, the 63-parameter, state-of-the-art method developed by Mérieux NutriSciences is next-to-impossible to be tricked.
Bert Pöpping, chief scientific officer and expert in food chemistry and molecular biology, stated, “The method is a cutting edge development utilizing latest analytical techniques in combination with unique algorithms for data processing. Using this precise and reliable method makes it almost impossible to deceive the producers, the retailers and last but not least, the consumers.”
With its advanced analytical developments, Mérieux NutriSciences aims to help re-establish consumer trust and allow affected stakeholders to assess the quality of their suppliers’ products.
Jean-François Billet, senior vice president corporate development, said, “Our services address all food safety and quality challenges, including intentional adulteration actions affecting the food value chain. In the context of globalization of the agro-food market, scarcity of some resources and climate impacts, it is critical for our clients to be able to ensure origin and composition of products. It is also a key to build and keep the trust of the end-consumers.”
